Former ACU student dies in car crash that killed five

Christopher Collins/Reporter-News
Friends of former ACU student Clint Diaz gathered at a vigil in the ACU Amphitheatre Tuesday night to pray. Diaz was killed in an auto wreck Tuesday.

Abilene Christian University held a vigil Tuesday night for a former student who was among five people killed in a two-vehicle crash in the Texas Panhandle.

Clint Diaz, currently a student at West Texas A&M University, and several other members of the summer musical “Texas” were returning from an end-of-the-year party Monday night when their car was broadsided by an 18-wheeler.

According to officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Diaz, 20, who was driving, disregarded a stop sign as he turned onto U.S. 287 near Dumas, about 40 miles north of Amarillo, and pulled out into the path of the truck.

Investigators said alcohol may have been a factor.

“Texas” is performed annually at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, south of Amarillo, authorities said.

“The ACU community is praying for the Diaz family and the other families who grieve; for those in our theater department who knew and loved Clint; and for this young man’s wide circle of friends — here in Texas and around the country — who mourn his loss,” said Grant Rampy, ACU spokesman.

Tuesday night’s vigil took place outside the school’s amphitheater.

In addition to Diaz, of Amarillo, those killed in the crash were Andrew Duncan, 20, of Wichita Falls; Amanda Starz, 20, of Timonium, Md.; Julian Arredondo, 24, of Haltom City; and Eric Harrison, 21, of Fort Worth, said Christopher Ray, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, in a news release. All five were pronounced dead at the scene.

A sixth occupant of the car, Timothy Johnson, of Portland, Ore., who was sitting directly behind Diaz, was taken to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, where he was listed in critical condition.

The driver of the 18-wheeler, Theron Arthur McSay, 70, of Fort Collins, Colo., was in stable condition at the same hospital, according to a DPS release.

The Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation canceled Tuesday night’s performance of “Texas.” The musical’s final performance of the year is Saturday.

The Amarillo tourism community is heartbroken over the crash, said a note the foundation’s website.